The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea paniculata, a member of the Hydrangeaceae family, hereinafter referred to as ‘HYPMAD II’. This cultivar is grown primarily as an ornamental for landscape use and for use as fresh cut and dried flowers. The cultivar originated from open-pollination of Hydrangea paniculata ‘Pink Diamond’ (unpatented), the pollen donor being unknown. It was selected at the University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. in 2001, from the progeny seedlings of this open pollination by continued evaluation for numerous white sepals that cover most of the interior fertile flowers, sepals that mature to rose-pink, sepals that became cupped with maturity producing a frilly, lacy inflorescence, strong stems, dark green, insect and disease resistant foliage, and compact broad rounded growth habit.
‘HYPMAD II’ is distinguished from its female parent ‘Pink Diamond’ by its numerous sepals that cover 80-90% of the interior fertile flowers. Sepals of ‘Pink Diamond’ cover only 40-50% of the interior fertile flowers. The sepals of ‘HYPMAD II’ open white, mature to rich rose-pink, and point away from the inflorescence, resulting in a frilly, lace appearance. The moderately stout stems of ‘HYPMAD II’ hold the inflorescences more upright than the stems of ‘Pink Diamond’. ‘HYPMAD II’ has darker green leaves than those of ‘Pink Diamond’, and its develops a compact, broad-mounded habit, 130 cm by 170 cm in 4 years, whereas in side by side comparison ‘Pink Diamond’ was 185 cm by 185 cm at the same age.
‘HYPMAD II’ is distinguished from a sibling, ‘HYPMAD I’ (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/337,831) by flowering 2 weeks later, by having rose pink sepals of maturity compared to the parchment color of ‘HYPMAD I’, by having a more open, frilly inflorescence with only 80 to 90% of the fertile flowers being covered by the sepals, compared to the flat, completely covered inflorescence of ‘HYPMAD I’, and being rather larger in size, 130 cm high compared to 120 cm in side by side growth comparisons.
‘HYPMAD II’ holds its frilly panicles more upright than other H. paniculta varieties with flatter panicles, such as ‘Grandiflora’ (unpatented), ‘Little Lamb’ (PP15,395) and ‘Webb's’ (unpatented), and is more compact than ‘Grandiflora’ and ‘Webb's’.